Big Day for Dippin' Dots Fans

Today is a big day for Dippin’ Dots and our fans! Our financial worries are gone and the future is brighter than ever.

Posted May 18, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Dippin’ Dots, LLC, a newly-formed company based in Oklahoma City and funded by private capital, has finalized its acquisition of Dippin’ Dots, Inc, the Kentucky-based manufacturer of the popular flash-frozen ice cream. The acquisition closed on Friday after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Louisville, Kentucky approved the purchase earlier this month.

“The acquisition process went smoothly,” Scott Fischer, president of Dippin’ Dots, LLC, said. “Dippin’ Dots is an outstanding brand, and thanks to the continued dedication of our Dippin’ Dots employees, we are in a unique position to reconstruct the business model of one of the most recognizable brands in the retail market and to realize growth on an international scale. We have set internal milestones for substantial growth within the first year. Presently, there are more than 1,600 Dippin’ Dots locations worldwide. By the close of 2012, the company plans to raise that number to 2,000.”

Dippin’ Dots, LLC, will maintain its headquarters in Paducah, Kentucky, where approximately 165 people are employed at their production facility. The company sells the ice cream to theme parks, concert and sports venues and to a network of over 125 franchisees nationwide. Dippin’ Dots also sells internationally to customers and licensees in Canada, Europe, South Korea, Brazil, Japan and Australia.

Dippin’ Dots Founder and CEO Curt Jones commented on the company’s new ownership. “When I had the idea for Dippin’ Dots, I knew we had something special, and we saw a lot of early success after starting the company in 1988. Although recent financial limitations have curtailed the company’s growth, the new ownership has brought with them a dedication to exploring new opportunities with us, while maximizing profitability. Their commitment to our concept, our employees, and to the brand’s growth at national and international levels, speaks well for the future of Dippin’ Dots.”

“Dippin’ Dots has a legacy it can be proud of, a legacy supported by its impressive popularity among consumers,” said Fischer. “My job is to make sure we take a focused approach to elevating the business and delivering this exceptional product to consumers worldwide. To that end, we have acquired the Dippin’ Dots franchising business and a portion of the international business to complement our acquisition of Dippin’ Dots, Inc. By doing so, we have assembled a complete package with which we can move forward and grow. We look forward to reinvigorating the brand and introducing new products to the market.”

Harpeth Capital served as investment banker to Dippin’ Dots, Frost Brown Todd served as legal counsel to Dippin’ Dots and McAfee & Taft served as legal advisor to the buyer. Greg Charleston, from the financial consulting firm of Conway MacKenzie, served as Chief Restructuring Officer of Dippin’ Dots throughout the sale process.

About Dippin' Dots

Few products can claim to have "re-invented" one of the world's best-known treats.

In 1988, Dippin' Dots Founder Curt Jones changed the way the world enjoys ice cream. Jones, a microbiologist, pioneered the process of cryogenic encapsulation...a scientific way of saying he used super-cold freezing methods to make little beads of ice cream. Not only were the ice cream beads delicious and fun to eat, Jones knew that flash-freezing the ice cream ingredients would lock in flavor and freshness. With those qualities established, Dippin' Dots’ popularity skyrocketed, and the ice cream now has a home in over a thousand locations worldwide, including theme parks, fairs & festivals and franchised store locations.

Dippin' Dots is made from fresh dairy ingredients flavored with a variety of fun, fruity, enticing and even exotic flavors. Those ingredients are frozen almost instantly in liquid nitrogen, a common element in the atmosphere used commercially for flash freezing. After production, Dippin' Dots are packaged and shipped worldwide. The most popular flavors are Banana Split, Cookies & Cream and Rainbow Ice.

Dippin' Dots is made at the company's Administrative, Sales, Franchising, and Production headquarters in Paducah, Kentucky.